George WeigelOrchids have gone from exotic and expensive to exotic and inexpensive -- at least for some types. This one's a miltonia.

Long considered divas of the plant world, orchids look the part – svelte, refined, elegant.

They exude sophistication, almost to the point that only the greenest of thumbs should attempt to cultivate one.

Yet suddenly, there they are in box stores and even at the grocery store.

Mass production of a few easy-to-grow types has given us potted orchids for $20 to $30.

That's cheap enough for these eye-turners to become an impulse buy, a plant more often scarfed up by home-decorators and party-givers than true-blue gardeners.

"Orchids used to be exotic and expensive," says Jay Holcomb, a retired Penn State University floriculture professor and member of the local Susquehanna Orchid Society. "Now they're exotic and inexpensive."

Orchids now have surpassed the poinsettia as America's No. 1 potted plant in terms of value, although poinsettias still lead in total plants sold.

The orchid surge traces to the easing of international trade regulations and the resulting mass production – mostly in Japan and Thailand – of easy-to-grow moth orchids and dendrobiums.

That knocked prices down to where box stores got interested.

Holcomb says it helps that orchids can be shipped bare-root without soil, which is not only cheaper but an easier path through U.S. Customs.

The mainstreaming of orchids has led to another curiosity – the blue orchid.

George WeigelA dye-infused blue orchid.

This is causing some angst in the gardening world because, well, it's cheating.

Blue orchids really aren't blue. They're white ones that have been induced to absorb blue dye into their flowers.

They look real, but to some, it's no different than spray-painting a mum to get whatever color you'd like.

It's similar to the brouhaha over spray-dyed poinsettias. You either love them or call it botanical desecration.

All of this has long-time orchid fanciers scratching their heads.

Safe to say, one place you probably won't see a blue orchid is at this weekend's annual Susquehanna Orchid Society Show and Sale at the Stauffers of Kissel Hill garden center at 301 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster.

This group of fifty-some orchid growers – mostly amateurs – each year stages a judged competition where the public gets to see the range of orchid forms.

The event also features eight vendors selling almost any kind of orchid you'd want to try as well as seminars on orchid care, an "Orchid Doctor" station to diagnose orchid ills, and a repotting station where you can have your orchid expertly repotted for a modest fee.

Mark McMastersOne of the orchid exhibits at the Susquehanna Orchid Society show.

This is, in other words, a place where folks can tell you the difference between a Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilum or the best growing medium for a Cattleya.

Orchid hobbyists like Holcomb, who's chair of the 2012 SOS show and sale, are pleased to see the mass production of orchids introducing more people to this intriguing family of flowers.

"Orchids are the largest plant family with the greatest variation," he says. "They come from all over the world, except Antarctica."

Holcomb also likes that more people are appreciating orchids' long-lasting flowers and the fact that at least some types are doable in ordinary homes.

Yet the surge hasn't really translated into more serious orchid fanciers. Nor has it moved interest beyond just two or three common types.

And Holcomb suspects that a lot of those box-store orchids end up in the trash once they go out of bloom.

That's because getting an orchid to rebloom can be tricky. Usually, the problem is not enough light.

It's also not always possible to give an orchid the conditions it needs in an average home.

"If you match the environment to the orchid, they're relatively easy," Holcomb says. "If you can grow an African violet, you can grow an orchid. But if you have the wrong environment, it's painful and difficult, and you'll probably kill the orchid. I've killed a lot of them myself."

In that regard, orchids are no different than any other plant.

Except for being artificially blue.

As for that, Holcomb calls it "interesting."

"If you like a blue orchid, it is," he says. "People are excited by blue flowers. But if you want it to bloom next year, it's going to be white."

If You Go:

What: 2012 Susquehanna Orchid Society Show and Sale. The group meets the third Sunday of each month at Bethany Village in Lower Allen Twp.

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